more attempts with little success, Mike made the suggestion of using a come-a-long. This is a small portable winch consisting of a cable attached to a hand-operated ratchet.
Fortunately, the Leon County Sheriff’s Department had one with them. It was brought down to the water and it was attached to a tree near the water’s edge and Mike took the cable and hook down to the restriction. He attached the hook around McFaden’s leg in a manner that it would not come loose. After another thirty minutes and several attempts, McFadden’s body heaved through the restriction.
Because Bill’s body was underwater for at least ten hours, the body was in a state of decomposition and gasses were expanding particularly as it was moved up to shallower depths. We were not particularly prepared for that as Bill’s body was rapidly rising towards the surface. Because Buddy and John were underwater they made a valiant attempt to slow down the ascent. I was on the surface and before I knew it, Bill’s body popped up to the water’s facade. Bill’s mask was still in place. Gushing from both Bill’s mouth and nose, was a steady stream of bloody froth and gurgling.
I began pushing Bill’s body with Mike, who joined to help at the sinkhole’s edge where several people stood. Everyone reached down to help pull him out of the water. That was no easy task. You have probably heard of the term “dead weight”. Believe me, that is no exaggeration. Carrying a dead body up a steep slope is an immense challenge but an important duty. An ambulance had arrived an hour earlier and Bill was carefully placed on a gurney. Several people carefully helped place the gurney into the ambulance. Bill was taken to the County Coroner’s office in Tallahassee for an autopsy examination. It was proven days later that Bill had suffered an air embolism.
It had been a long day for me as with everyone else. As far as I was concerned, I was done and getting out of the water. Mike went into the cave to retrieve Bill’s equipment. That was easy as all you had to do was inflate the BCD from the power inflator and make the tanks neutral. Pushing the gear through the restriction was a snap. As you ascended to the surface you steadily purge air from the BCD so that it did not float up too fast and/or get out of control.
In any scuba diving drowning accident, it is standard procedure for all scuba equipment to be confiscated and inspected by a qualified person of the Sheriff’s Department. The equipment was sent to the U.S. Navy base